Jet Closes North American Tour with Electrifying First Avenue Finale

Jet, the Melbourne-based rockers behind early-2000s anthems like “Are You Gonna Be My Girl,” brought that lightning straight into the heart of Minneapolis at First Avenue, wrapping their North American tour with a set that felt like both a greatest hits victory lap and a gritty, confident rebirth.

The band – brothers Nic (vocals, guitar) and Chris Cester (drums), along with Cameron Muncey (guitar, vocals) and Mark Wilson (bass, vocals) – has been largely dormant since disbanding in 2012 after three studio albums. They showed no signs of rust, though – if anything, they have a new drive and what feels like a purpose that only comes from time away and the hunger to do it all over again.

Ahead of the show, one of Jet’s T-shirt designs caught my eye: a hand gripping a bundle of lightning bolts. It turned out to be a fitting preview. From the moment they took the stage, they delivered a performance charged with raw energy. The mark of a truly great rock show is when the energy doesn’t stay on stage and it surges into the crowd. That’s exactly what happened. Every song felt like WE were directly plugged into their amps, and the current never let up. 

Opening with “Last Chance” from their seminal debut Get Born, Jet made it clear early that they came to remind fans why they once soundtracked a generation’s youth. The benefit of it being the final show of the tour was obvious, as this was a band in full control of their sound, tight and thunderous. Chris Cester’s drumming hit like a piledriver while Nic Cester’s vocals were still raw, still soaring, and sent chills across the venue. It’s a testament to the talent when you can still wail on the last show of a long tour.

The night leaned heavily on their first two albums (Get Born and Shine On), with 13 of 17 songs pulled from those records. The crowd responded with singing, stomping, and at one point, hoisting a shirtless fan into the air for a glorious rock ‘n’ roll salute. From the strut of “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” to the pulse of “Rip It Up,” there was a fast-paced energy and nostalgia coexisting. 

One of the show’s most poignant moments came when Nic Cester performed “Look What You’ve Done” on acoustic guitar. It’s the first song the band ever wrote, and in that stripped-back setting, its Beatles-inspired tenderness shimmered with renewed depth. Another acoustic highlight, “Move On,” found the band in reflective mode with the opening lyrics:

Well, I’ve been thinkin’ ’bout the future

Too young to pretend

It’s such a waste to always look behind you

You should be lookin’ straight ahead

Only one new track made the set, the single “Hurry Hurry.” It felt less like an outlier and more like a declaration. It’s a reintroduction, a gritty new chapter slowly unfolding as they work towards a new album release this year. There’s still grizzle on the bone of their sound, a type of electric itch that crawls under the skin and stays there.

Fittingly, they closed with a fiery take on AC/DC’s “It’s a Long Way to the Top,” with members of opening act Band of Skulls dancing along at the side of the stage. Watching that celebration of a long tour come to an end, pitch perfect, and turned to 11, left fans craving for more. 

Jet may have disappeared for a while, but based on the energy of this First Avenue show, they’re not just back, they’re surging forward, amps cranked and eyes fixed ahead. And if this tour is any indicator, they’re more than ready to show the world how far they’ve come and how much farther they can go.